Buffaloes lead heirloom procession

Text and photographs by Tarko Sudiarno

SURAKARTA (JP): The clock struck 1 a.m. on Monday. The bell rang, breaking the silence at Surakarta Hadiningrat Palace.

"It's starting, it's starting," murmured people who had been amassing at the entrance to the palace complex from 10 p.m. Thousands of people waiting outside the entrance gates began to fight their way to the front to watch a court procession celebrating the Javanese New Year, Suro 1.

Minutes later, eight albino buffaloes who had been readied since 11:30 p.m. at Baluwarti, the palace's gate, were let loose. Before being herded out of their stables, the buffaloes, adorned with jasmine wreaths on their necks, were served offerings of food.

The buffaloes, called Kyai Slamet, were the prima donnas of the event. In Surakarta, these animals are considered sacred and people come to them for blessing. They are seen as the court's heirloom and receive special treatment.

Last Sunday, March 25, the palace -- together with the palace in Yogyakarta, seen as Java's cultural and mystical center -- held the annual Javanese New Year celebrations. The buffaloes were at the forefront of the procession, which wound its way around the palace grounds in a ritual called kirap pusaka (court heirloom procession).

The ceremony is aimed at seeking divine blessing for spiritual strength.

Thousands of people from all over Java gathered early in the streets of Surakarta where the procession was to take place later that night.

"I came to Baluwarti at 8 p.m. to make sure I have a place in the front and receive more blessings," said Widodo, 36, from Magetan, East Java, while cuddling his young child.

Seeking blessings was what the people came here for that evening. So when the buffaloes took center stage in the palace yard, they were cheered on like celebrities. People jostled forward to try to touch the buffaloes. Others scrambled for the remaining bits of offerings or flower bouquets that dropped from the animals. They would keep the bits as their private heirlooms.

"I will keep them in the cabinet for the peace and safety of my offspring," said an elderly woman, Mrs. Suwito, from Karanganyar, near Surakarta.

There are different versions of the history of the buffaloes.

One version has it that they are the offspring of a pair of albino buffaloes belonging to King Paku Buwono X (r. 1893-1939), who was considered Surakarta's most renowned monarch. Paku Buwono caught the wild buffaloes in the forest.

They were not ordinary buffaloes because they were able to safeguard the palace. Buffaloes have always been part of the heirloom procession held on the eve of the Javanese New Year.

The court procession remains popular among the Javanese community.

Last week's ceremony began at midnight with prayers led by four palace servants (abdi dalem) at the Baluwarti. There were no special programs. It started. Then they paid tribute to the buffaloes and gave them offerings of food at the palace yard.

At 1 a.m. sharp, the procession began with an army of abdi dalem carrying the palace's heirlooms -- which had been handed down over the generations from the ancient Majapahit, Demak and Mataram kingdoms -- stepped out of the palace. With its large majestic paper umbrellas called songsong agung, torches and burning incense, the procession was magical.

Leading the way were the eight buffaloes, aged between two weeks and 28 years. The crowds on the streets fought every inch to get as close as possible to the animals to touch them.

When the buffaloes defecated, people rushed to get a chunk of the dung. They believed it would bring them luck, such as making their land fertile.

The procession ended at dawn. The several thousands of abdi dalem entered the palace and the buffaloes were set free. On a normal day, the animals roam freely. Nobody dares to stop them even if they trespass their property and devour their plants, or tramp into the market eating anything they like -- without paying.